Baros Maldives scored 99.73 points out of 100.
Travel + Leisure came up with the ranking by surveying more than 207,000 readers who cast over 661,000 votes across different travel products experiences, including hotels, resorts, cities, islands, cruise lines and airlines.
The resort's villas cater to couples, honeymooners and travelers seeking a secluded luxury escape.
Rates start at around $500 per night for a double room and rise to about $1,100 during the peak year-end holiday season.
Located on Baros Island, around a 25-minute speedboat ride from Velana International Airport in Malé, the resort is known for its white-sand beaches, crystal-clear waters and house reef, where guests can snorkel close to the shore.
It also offers highly personalized service, supported by a high staff-to-guest ratio.
The resort's spa is set amid lush tropical gardens, offering a tranquil escape with luxurious wellness treatments.
It features four private treatment suites for couples, each equipped with a sauna, outdoor bath and post-treatment relaxation area.
Guests can choose from massages, skincare therapies, aromatherapy sessions, and guided yoga and meditation classes.
A standout feature of Baros Maldives is its lush greenery, which sets it apart from many other resorts in the Maldives.
Before opening as a resort in 1973, Baros Island was a natural coconut forest.
Rather than clearing the vegetation for development, its founders preserved most of the coconut palms and native ecosystem, transforming the island into a tropical botanical garden.
Dining has been central to Baros Maldives' reputation for more than five decades. The resort features three restaurants, each with a distinct culinary concept, alongside a range of private dining experiences on the water.
Its signature restaurant, The Lighthouse, is built over the lagoon beneath a white sail-shaped roof that has become an iconic symbol of Baros.
Opened in 2005, it was the Maldives' first two-story overwater restaurant. Evenings are especially popular, with guests enjoying dinner against the backdrop of Indian Ocean sunsets and starlit skies.
Thanks to its house reef, guests can snorkel just a few minutes from the beach to see colorful coral, tropical fish, sea turtles and blacktip reef sharks.
The resort also has a dive center offering scuba diving excursions for both beginners and experienced divers.
Other activities include stand-up paddleboarding, glass-bottom kayaking, windsurfing, catamaran sailing, wakeboarding, waterskiing, high-speed towable rides, sunset fishing and dolphin-watching cruises on the Indian Ocean.
